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Police probe latest suspected ‘price tag’ incident near Jerusalem

Suspected far-right vandals have once again defaced Arab-owned property just outside of Jerusalem in what authorities on Sunday believe to be yet another “price tag” incident, Israel Radio reported.

In a construction site in Kiryat Ye’arim (also known as Telz-Stone), anti-Arab graffiti was found spray-painted on the walls, including “price tag” and “Kahane was right,” a reference to the slain rabbi Meir Kahane, a Jewish extremist who advocated the expulsion of Arabs from Israel.

A security guard tasked with watching over the site told police that he left his post for two hours. Upon returning, he discovered that the property had been vandalized.

Also on Saturday, an Arab resident of Acre reported that his car’s tires were punctured and a Star of David spray-painted on the vehicle while he was parked in Nahal Hashofet in northern Israel.

These incidents follow a series of back-to-back acts of anti-Arab vandalism within the Green Line in the past few weeks, which have led to protests in the Arab sector and condemnation from a series of Israeli politicians.

Suspected far-right vandals spray-painted graffiti on the tombstone of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, the Muslim preacher who provided inspiration for Hamas’ military wing, Israel’s Channel 10 reported on Friday. Al-Qassam is buried in a Muslim cemetery near Haifa.

Late last week, police arrested a husband and wife from the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar on suspicion of taking part in the attempted torching of an Umm el-Fahm mosque in a “price tag” attack last month.

The two suspects, Amihai Matuki, 37, and his wife Nira, 33, the parents of five children, were ordered to be kept in custody by a Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court judge – Amihai until Sunday and Nira until Friday.

Two of the couple’s neighbors from Yitzhar were also arrested on Wednesday as part of the case. The couple was arrested after their car was believed to have been spotted near the scene of the crime.

On Saturday, police announced that they had arrested two people, a man from Ramle and a woman from Jaffa, when they were caught in the act of spraying red paint on an Israeli flag on Olei Tzion street in Jaffa. Police believe they were responsible for the spray-painting of 60 flags along Yehuda Hayamit street last week.

Last Thursday, Israel Police Insp.- Gen. Yohanan Danino addressed the recent spate of price tag nationalist attacks within the Green Line, saying that the police are determined to make arrests and to stop these “explosive” attacks.

“The severity of nationalist crimes that have occurred recently is obvious and they can potentially have an explosive influence on the sensitive relations between the different populations in Israel,” Danino said.

He added: “Therefore the Israel Police has stepped up its enforcement efforts and we are determined to solve these crimes and make arrests. I am convinced there will be results in the near future.”